Greifenstein

Greifenstein
Coat of arms
Greifenstein
Location of Greifenstein within Lahn-Dill-Kreis district
Coordinates: 50°36′34″N 08°14′35″E / 50.60944°N 8.24306°E / 50.60944; 8.24306Coordinates: 50°36′34″N 08°14′35″E / 50.60944°N 8.24306°E / 50.60944; 8.24306
Country	Germany
State	Hesse
Admin. region	Gießen
District	Lahn-Dill-Kreis
Government
• Mayor	Martin Kröckel (Ind.)
Area
• Total	67.43 km2 (26.03 sq mi)
Population (2015-12-31)
• Total	6,866
• Density	100/km2 (260/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	35753
Dialling codes	02775, 02779, 06449, 06473, 06478, 06477
Vehicle registration	LDK
Website	www.greifenstein.de

Greifenstein is a community in the Lahn-Dill-Kreis in Hesse, Germany. Its administrative seat is Beilstein. Greifenstein covers 67.43 km² on the eastern slope of the Westerwald range. Its name comes from the castle of the same name in the constituent community of the same name, where the German Bell Museum (Deutsches Glockenmuseum) is to be found, with about 50 bells showing the development of bell pouring.

Greifenstein borders in the northwest on the community of Driedorf, in the north on the town of Herborn and the community of Sinn, in the east on the community of Ehringshausen, in the south on the town of Leun (all in the Lahn-Dill-Kreis) and the community of Löhnberg, and in the southwest on the community of Mengerskirchen (both in Limburg-Weilburg).

The community was founded as part of Hesse's municipal reforms in 1977 from the following centres (with population figures as at 31 December 2004):

total: 7409 inhabitants

Allendorf had its first documentary mention in 774. In the 14th century, the village was stricken with the Plague, and the population in outlying hamlets swiftly fell, and those left moved to the village. It is said that the name Allendorf comes from this episode in the village's history, specifically from the phrase Alle ein Dorf – "All one village".

After the Thirty Years' War, Allendorf became Prussian. The border with Nassau, no stranger to war, ran right by the village.

In the early 1920s, the Ulmbach Valley Railway came to town to transport raw materials from the Ulm Valley.

In 1934, Allendorf became an independent community in the Wetzlar district.

Allendorf lost 75 young men in the fighting in the Second World War. There is now a memorial to them. After the war, newcomers from East Prussia, Pomerania and Silesia found new homes in Allendorf.